AWeber is one of the oldest email marketing platforms. Founded in Pennsylvania in 1998, the ESP serves customers across many verticals and offers essential features to help customers scale their marketing campaigns.
This email marketing tool is known for its email autoresponder and email series builder, email and web analytics, and landing page builder. It also has a Smart Design editor, which helps you custom-create emails based on the URL you feed in it.
But, on the downside, the price-to-feature ratio isn't the most attractive as many features, especially marketing automation, are limited by triggers and conditions.
This AWeber review guide will discuss the core features, pros and cons, and some of the best alternatives you can consider. The review is based on the personal analysis of its features and users' feedback.
AWeber Overview & Ratings
Here’s the overall rating from G2 and Aweber's features and functionality:
| Features | Rating | Expert’s Note |
|---|---|---|
| Overall G2 | 4.2/5.0 | |
| Ease of use | 3.0/5.0 | AWeber may require some familiarity to navigate effectively. |
| Email editor/design | 3.5/5.0 | AWeber provides adequate email template builder. |
| Email deliverability | 4.0/5.0 | AWeber demonstrates solid email deliverability. |
| Customer support | 3.0/5.0 | AWeber's customer support could be improved. |
What are Aweber's core features?
Here is a detailed analysis of AWeber's key features:
1. Drag-and-drop email template builder
AWeber’s email template editor seems quite basic and not very intuitive. It was difficult to change the email's overall color, font size, and dimension as the editor didn't have a clear option.
Pros:
Add and send an interactive AMP carousel. You can embed an interactive AMP carousel inside emails without coding skills.
Save time with Smart Designer editor. You can add your website's URL, and the tool will custom-create a template based on the page's assets. It's helpful if you want your email consistent with a specific page on your site.
Magic link option. When you add a link to a URL in AWeber's editor, it quickly turns it into a preview of the link's content. It shows the title, featured image, and description of the URL.
Cons:
Basic email templates for free plan users: As for the email templates, I didn't find any templates when I clicked on the 'Use one of AWeber's templates.' It redirected me to a blank canvas to create the email. The templates might not be available with the free version.
Missing must-have content blocks: The template does not offer premade content blocks such as a navigation menu, email layouts, spacer, etc.
Email footer option missing: You can see the email footer in the preview mode, but there is no option to edit or add one in the builder.
New feature: You can now format your emails with AWeber's new markdown feature. It will be most helpful while creating plain text emails.
2. Landing page builder
AWeber helps grow your email list and sell products with its landing page builder To do this, you can create and embed an inline form or pop-up on the landing page.
The tool has 46 creative and ready-to-use landing page templates. The templates are well-designed and might need minimal work to customize.
You can use these templates for various use cases, such as:
Sell course subscriptions
Promote special offers
Consultations and coaching
Crowdfunding and donations
Grow newsletter subscriptions
Get registrations for events and webinars
The landing page builder has the same UI as the drag-and-drop email editor. So it's easy to get familiar with it.
One cool feature is its Smart content option. It picks up content from the URL and helps you add related content assets to your new landing page. Some elements it picks up include -- Facebook posts, Google Maps locations, Shopify product listings, and RSS feeds. This feature can be helpful if you want to recreate an existing landing page. Although, this feature is only available if you're on AWeber's paid plans.
You can also sell products and collect payments by integrating your app with Stripe and Paypal.
3. Signup form builder
You can add a signup form to your landing page or create one for your website. There are basic premade templates that you use to get started, and you can choose from 4 different types of forms:
Inline forms
Pop-over
Pop-up
Lightbox
The AWeber's signup form builder for the website seems a bit odd and outdated given all the tools available in the market. The customization options are limited, and if you want to create creative signup forms, AWeber might not be a good choice.
Alternatively, when you create forms for landing pages, you work on the landing page builder. This editor is much easier to use, allowing many options and flexibility to create compelling forms.
4. Email automation builder
You can send one-time autoresponder emails or create a series of emails based on different trigger actions. AWeber has 17 premade email workflows and a marketplace where you can access email sequences of brands like Shopify, Thinkific, etc.
The email automation builder is easy to use, and you can add multiple emails by dragging and dropping. You can add tags to subscribers in your email list to send targeted email series to a segment of subscribers.
One drawback is that the tool doesn't have any if/then conditions to trigger more targeted emails which you can find in other ESPs such as Mailmodo, Mailchimp, and Mailerite. Another thing to remember is that you can create a single automation if you're using AWeber for free.
Aweber pricing details
| Number of contacts | Free | Lite | Plus |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-500 | $0/mo | $14.99/mo | $29.99/mo |
| Upto 2.5k | - | $24.99/mo | $39.99/mo |
| Upto 5k | - | $44.99/mo | $59.99/mo |
| Upto 10k | - | $64.99/mo | $79.99/mo |
| Upto 25k | - | $144.99/mo | $159.99/mo |
| Upto 50k | - | $387.99/mo | $402.99/mo |
| Upto 100k | - | $787.99/mo | $802.99/mo |
| Upto 150k | - | $1187.99/mo | $1202.99/mo |
AWeber also has an unlimited plan for 100k+ subscribers starting from $899/month. You get these extra benefits by choosing its unlimited plan over its plus plan:
Send 12x subscriber volume monthly.
Get personalized account management.
Fixed pricing, no matter how many subscribers you gain after 100k.
Get a complete analysis of Awebers’ pricing plans.
AWeber's pros and cons
Here are some of the key advantages and disadvantages of using AWeber as your ESP:
AWeber pros
- Good customer support: With more than two decades of experience, AWeber has been offering reliable support to its customers. It offers a variety of options to talk to its support team via emails, live chat support, and phone calls. You can get access to call support only on paid plans. Besides, if you like to learn independently, you can read their help articles and watch tutorial videos.
- Compelling landing page templates: AWeber has 40+ creative and ready-to-use templates for different use cases and industries.
AWeber cons
Unfair subscriber count and charges: AWeber counts unsubscribers as billable contacts as long as they're in your account. This isn't ideal, as many ESPs like Mailmodo don't charge you extra for keeping an unsubscriber in your AWeber account.
Basic email automation builder: Compared to other ESPs such as Mailmodo and Active Campaign, the automation workflow builder only offers a few trigger and segmentation opportunities. For instance, there is only wait and delay condition available.
Is AWeber the right tool for you?
Should you choose AWeber as your email marketing solution? Here are key pointers to help you decide.
When AWeber is recommended:
- You want instant and reliable support: AWeber's customer service team is reliable and quick to respond to your queries. They also have articles, tutorial videos, and podcasts to familiarize you with their tool. You can access phone call support if you're their paid user.
- You want to build landing pages: The landing page builder is one of AWeber's best features. You can build compelling pages, embed forms, and use them to promote or sell products and subscriptions. Besides, you can connect it to your custom domain.
- You want to sell products and services: AWeber integrates with Paypal, allowing you to collect money for your digital products and services on your sales page and via email. Once someone buys from you, you can use this action as a trigger to send relevant and timely emails.
When it's not
You want a higher deliverability rate: AWeber might not be a good choice as it didn't perform well in EmailToolTester's deliverability test. Your email campaigns might see the below deliverability rate impacting your domain reputation.
You want the best money-to-feature ratio: Given its features, AWeber came across as a less attractive ESP from a feature-to-price ratio perspective. Other ESPs, like Mailmodo, offer even more advanced features at affordable pricing.
You want to send interactive AMP emails: AWeber currently offers an AMP carousel that you can embed without any coding knowledge. But, to add other AMP widgets such as polls, forms, and carts, you must code your emails in HTML. In such a scenario, your best bet would be Mailmodo, using which you can create and send interactive AMP emails with its no-code email builder.
AWeber alternative
Check out these AWeber alternative which is much more affordable and offer better features.
Mailmodo
Mailmodo is one of the emerging and best email marketing platforms that help you create and send interactive AMP emails, build automated journeys, and create trigger campaigns. Apart from this, the tool is much cheaper than AWeber and offers excellent customer support.
AWeber vs. Mailmodo: Which ESP should you use?
| Criterion | Mailmodo | AWeber |
|---|---|---|
| No-code email builder | For both AMP and HTML emails with 200+ premade templates to start with. | For HTML emails with 600+ template libraries. You can only build an AMP carousel with its no-code editor. To embed other AMP widgets, you need to code them in HTML. |
| AMP email support | Supports over 20+ AMP widgets | Only for AMP email carousel |
| Transactional emails | Available on all plans | Available on all plans |
| Dedicated support | email, chat, video, and phone support | Email, live chat, and knowledge base support. They also offer free migration in their Plus and Unlimited plan. Phone call support isn't available for users on the free plan. |
| Custom template import | Available on all plans | Available on all plans |
| Email automation | ✅ | ✅ |
| Dynamic email & personalization | ✅ | ✅ |
| List Management | ✅ | ✅ |
| Reports and Analysis | ✅ | ✅ |
| Subject line A/B testing | ✅ | Available but not for free plan users. |
| Supported integrations | 20+ integrations | 700+ integrations |
| Pricing | Upto 40k contacts - Lite: $199/mo Upto 100k contacts: - Pro - $459/mo |
Upto 50k contacts: - Lite: $387.99/mo - Plus: $402.99/mo |
When should you choose Mailmodo over AWeber?
Here are 3 key reasons to choose Mailmodo over AWeber as your email marketing software:
- If you want an advanced automation builder
Mailmodo wins over AWeber with its advanced and easy-to-use email automation builder. You can create simple welcome emails to complicated re-engagement series. If you find a trigger isn't available, you can choose a custom event option to create one. Moreover, you can also connect with external platforms such as API/webhooks, Zapier, Make, Integromat, and influencer bit.
- If you want to send interactive AMP emails
AMP emails are the future of email marketing as they allow you to reduce friction and let your recipient act inside the email. Mailmodo is the only ESP that helps you create and send 20+ responsive and engaging AMP email widgets with its no-code email template builder. Some ways AMP emails can help include:
- Send NPS surveys to collect customer feedback
- Recover lost sales with shopping carts
- Get higher registration with Add to Calendar widget
- Engage users with gamified elements such as polls, spin the wheel, etc.
So, if you want to send engaging AMP and HTML emails, go for Mailmodo.
- If you have a huge email list but a low-budget
Mailmodo is a much more affordable tool than AWeber. You can send emails to 100,000 contacts for only $249/mo with the Silver plan, while AWeber charges $787.99/mo and $802.99/mo for the same number of contacts.
Aweber's rating overview
| Feature | Ratings | Comments |
|---|---|---|
| Ease of use | ⭐⭐⭐ | The tool is easy to use, but sometimes the navigation can be confusing. For instance, there are two separate form builders for websites and landing pages, and both vary largely regarding customization and flexibility. Second, marketing automation is called campaigns, while regular emails are broadcast. |
| Email template editor | ⭐⭐⭐ | The editor is straightforward and helps create engaging emails. But, there were no premade templates found in the free plan. Also, even though you could see the footer in preview mode while editing, it wasn't visible, so you can't customize it. Like many ESPs, AWeber didn't have any content blocks on its free plan, which made it hard to create emails in less time. Plus, it supports AMP email creation with an AMP carousel widget. |
| Premade templates | ⭐⭐⭐ | If you're on AWeber's Plus or Unlimited plan, you can access 600+ responsive email templates. The templates for lite and free plan users are quite basic and don't have any design elements. Besides integration with Canva, and stock image platform Unspalsh, the design flexibility has increased tremendously. |
| Email automation | ⭐⭐⭐ | Marketing automation isn't AWeber's strongest suit as it has basic trigger options, such as when someone subscribes to a list or has a particular tag. Besides, if/then condition isn't available, limiting the workflows you can create. You can get workflow inspiration from X premade workflows in the product or explore AWeber's marketplace. |
| List management | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | List management is easy, and you can create segments by assigning tags to contacts in your email list. |
| Signup form builder | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | You can create forms in two ways: either for your landing page or for your website. Both options lead you to different creation tools. The one for website forms seems outdated and offers basic customization options. You can add four forms: inline, pop-up, pop-over, and lightbox. In this editor, you also get premade template suggestions for forms. If you build a form to add to the landing page, you'll be redirected to an editor like the landing page builder. You can create an embed form or a pop-up with many customization options. |
| Landing page builder | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | The landing page builder has 46 ready-to-use templates for different use cases and industries. You can collect email addresses by embedding a form, selling digital products, and collecting payments in 100+ currencies. You need to integrate your app with Stripe or Paypal to do that. You can optimize your page, too, for search engines. The editor is useful and helps you create beautiful, compelling pages. |
| Email deliverability | ⭐⭐⭐ | AWeber maintained a low deliverability rate in EmailToolTeter's deliverability tests. But, in the most recent test, the tool performed spectacularly well, maintaining a rate of 92%. |
| Reporting and analytics | ⭐⭐⭐ | Reporting are one of AWeber's strongest areas. You can get names of openers and clickers, web visits, and conversion and ecommerce tracking info for emails. You also get impressive overall reports (account and list-based), including clicks over subscriber growth, sales over time, and more. No direct Google Analytics integration is available. |
| Personalization | ⭐⭐⭐ | Personalization is available. You can add a personalization parameter using a subscriber's basic details, account data, and geographical location. |
| Authentications | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ | SPF, DKIM, and DMARC are supported. |
| Own domain | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ | You can add a custom domain for landing pages, and it's possible to track the domain via AWeber web analytics. |
| Spam and design testing | ⭐ | You cannot send a test email using AWeber; no spam testing is available. |
| Bounce management | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Soft bounces are counted as hard bounces after three attempts. |
| Blocklist | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Bounced and blocked IDs ids are added to a block list. |
| Interactive elements | ⭐⭐⭐ | Currently, only the AMP-email carousel widget is supported. |
| Integrations | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | AWeber has 700+ integrations available with CRM, ecommerce, lead management, and other marketing apps. Some examples include Zapier, Paypal, Stripe, Podia, Demio, and more. |
| Languages | ⭐⭐⭐ | The tool and site are only available in English |
| Customer support | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Customer support team is fast and friendly. You can contact support via email, live chat, or phone (only for paid users). Their knowledge base is also good for resolving queries on your own. |
| Overall ratings | - 3.5/5 (EmailToolTester) - 4.2 (G2) - 4.4 (Capterra) | In a nutshell, AWeber offers all the tools, but many of them aren't advanced. The tool is a good starting point if you're a beginner email marketer, but if you need to scale, you need an advanced workflow builder and email editor. |
The verdict
AWeber offers almost all features to help you start and scale your email marketing campaigns. From its easy drag-and-drop editor to landing page builder, you can create engaging emails and grow your email list. AWerber does a great job with its landing page builder but has limited templates and options.
The template and automation builder is not up to date with advanced features such as multiple trigger options, premade content blocks, and interactive AMP emails.
Besides, given its price, there are better alternatives to get the same or even advanced features, such as Mailmodo. You can create dynamic email templates, get access to 20+ AMP email widgets, and set up better workflows with 12+ trigger options. You can try Mailmodo with its 21-day free trial.
